From a thoughtful interview posted on the wonderful Earth and Sky site, a look at California rivers yesterday and today with Prof. Jeff Mount of UC Davis. At one point he mentions that when Congress gave the "wild and scenic river" designation to a dozen or so California rivers, "they got half of it rightContinue reading “Rehabilitating — not Restoring — California’s Rivers”
Category Archives: the land
Stink-Eye from a Deer
The Federal government took control of Yosemite Valley in 1890, the second chapter of The National Parks documentary reminds us, and prohibited all hunting. So it’s been twenty or more generations since a deer in Yosemite Valley has encountered a human with the intent to kill. They have less fear of us than we haveContinue reading “Stink-Eye from a Deer”
Can’t They See the World’s on Fire?
We haven't even reached the real Santa Ana season yet, and yet the hellish feeling of being trapped in a SoCal with a conflagration at our backs is all too with us these days. Even if it's not true at this moment. So instead of posting about climate change again (oh gawd) I'm going toContinue reading “Can’t They See the World’s on Fire?”
Animal Logic — Photos by Another Darn Genius
Having six billion plus humans on the planet creates some problems, but also has some advantages. Surely there are more geniuses amongst us now than ever before. And thanks to the Internet, we can experience their work a little more easily than back in Da Vinci's day. Well, Richard Barnes may not have Da Vinci'sContinue reading “Animal Logic — Photos by Another Darn Genius”
Muir Lake: Another Perfect Day
Was I really here? A little over a week ago? Can't quite believe it…miss it already. I know that posting vacation pics is a little cheesy in this oh-so-serious blog, but here's my justification: One day's exposure to mountains is better than cartloads of books. See how willingly Nature poses herself upon photographers' plates. NoContinue reading “Muir Lake: Another Perfect Day”
The Eroticism of the Sierra Nevada Salamander
Having spent much of the last month in the mountains, forgive me for putting up a few "timeless" posts, as we used to say in the newspaper biz, instead of on what happened yesterday. On my latest journey into the Southern Sierra, I took along a wonderful book called Sierra Nevada: The Naturalist's Companion. BeingContinue reading “The Eroticism of the Sierra Nevada Salamander”
Secret Camp
If the price of beauty is loneliness, this is where I will come to pay…
Last Night on the Trail
Even after a week of walking in the Sierra; even after one wearies of dirtying the same few clothes worn throughout the day and throughout the week, day after day, even after one's spouse expresses her weariness with the same clothes, and even when the tent begins to feel look and cramped…there's a nostalgia thatContinue reading “Last Night on the Trail”
A Good Practical Immortality (in Yosemite)
Talk of immortality! After a whole day in the woods, we are already immortal. When is the end of such a day? –John Muir, from his notebooks…and here, via Timknows, a picture of a favorite place I and friends will be visiting soon, Washburn Lake, in the Yosemite backcountry. All this to announce that I'mContinue reading “A Good Practical Immortality (in Yosemite)”
Sierra Water: It’s Cleaner Than You Think
That's according to an ER doc and professor at UC Davis named Robert Derlet, who has been testing water at the most popular Sierra wilderness sites for years for the Wilderness Medicine Society. Here's a study on the subject he authored a few years ago for the WMS, and here's a terrific story about hisContinue reading “Sierra Water: It’s Cleaner Than You Think”
Kit Stolz 